Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/179

Rh magnificent statuary shone before them; they entered its precincts, after a skirmish with the Indians, and saw its mysteries. Endeavoring afterwards to escape, one of them was sacrificed upon the high altar of the sun, and the other so badly wounded that he died in the forests of Guatemala. Only Don Velasquez and a few trusty guides escaped to tell the story of their perilous adventures. This was thirty years ago, since which time, so far as we can learn, no successful attempt has been made.

Imagine what a stimulant to an earnest explorer the possible discovery of this wonderful city offers! It would be well worth a year of one's life even to look upon its walls, and another year would be a cheap purchase of a glimpse of its interior and people! It took such a strong hold upon the writer, that he narrowly missed going on the search alone, when, in 1881, he found himself on the borders of that country, in Yucatan and in Southern Mexico. Six years ago he was in correspondence with a well-known scientist in relation to an investigation of the adjacent country, and later he made a proposition to enter that region, and to devote several years to a study of the people inhabiting it.

It is his firm conviction that in no other way can be obtained the clew to the hieroglyphs that adorn the walls of those ruins in Yucatan and Guatemala. In no other way can we hope to obtain a knowledge of that strange people,—of their language, of their ancient arts and systems of government.

Unfortunately, scientific authority did not coincide with the views expressed, or rather could not furnish the necessary funds for the purpose, and the writer went towards South America, where he remained nearly three years, engaged in ornithological labors. When he again made a proposition for an extended tropical trip, he was asked if he would accept the position